


I Love You 3000

by softysstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Tony Stark, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, M/M, Mpreg, No Slash, Omega Tony Stark, Post-Civil War tensions, X-Men References, but it’s mostly implied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-07 14:04:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18874687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softysstark/pseuds/softysstark
Summary: He pulled out a child-sized wooden chair just adjacent to the tent and sat in it, crossing his ankles.“Morgan May Barnes, want some lunch?”Suddenly, the opening of the tent was pulled aside and a small child came out, donning a red Iron Man helmet and gauntlet.“Define lunch or be disintegrated,” the child said, threateningly pointing the gauntlet towards Tony’s face whilst struggling to keep the helmet on her head with the other hand.Remake currently in the making:))





	1. Morgan

**Author's Note:**

> Heyoo! Just a little note for everyone reading this currently (today is the fourth of September) that I’m still updating this work. It might be a bit because I plan on rewriting it all, but I might also just finish this one and then post the rewritten version a bit later. Thank you for patience and have a wonderful day :))

Tony unlocked the front door to his lake house and stepped down from the porch, heading towards the cluster of trees nearby where the sounds of childish laughter filled the air. He clapped his hands rhythmically when he saw the familiar black floral covering of a tent.

 

“Chowtime!”, he called out.

 

When nobody answered, he kneeled in front of the tent.

 

“Princess?”, he asked.

 

Still no answer.

 

He pulled out a child-sized wooden chair just adjacent to the tent and sat in it, crossing his ankles.

 

“Morgan May Barnes, want some lunch?”

 

Suddenly, the opening of the tent was pulled aside and a small child came out, donning a red Iron Man helmet and gauntlet.

 

“Define lunch or be disintegrated,” the child said, threateningly pointing the gauntlet towards Tony’s face whilst struggling to keep the helmet on her head with the other.

 

Tony held up a defensive hand. “Okay.

 

“You should not be wearing that, okay, that is very dangerous and you could get hurt.” He leaned in momentarily to give the helmet a kiss on the cheek before hooking both his hands under the sides and slipping it off her head, causing an avalanche of brown hair to fall out.

 

“There you go,” he said, sweeping away a few unruly strands of hair that reminded Tony so much of Bucky’s own hair on the girl’s forehead. “You thinking about lunch? Maybe a handful of crickets on a bed of lettuce-”

 

“No-”

 

“That’s what you want. How did you-” He held up the helmet. “Look at this.”

 

“Garage,” she simply said, giggling and smiling.

 

“Oh, were you looking for it?”

 

“No, I found it though.”

 

“Hm,” Tony said, drawing out the ‘m’. “You like going in the garage, huh?”

 

He stood up, hoisting Morgan onto his hip before booping her nose once with his index finger. “Well, so does mommy.

“How does cheeseburgers sound?”, he asked, walking back towards the house until he heard the rumbling of a car engine. He looked over his shoulder, groaning when he saw a sleek black car heading up towards the house. “Go inside and I’ll meet you there in a second, ‘kay, princess?”

 

She nodded and Tony dropped her, letting her run off.  Once he heard the door click shut, he turned to face the car, sticking his hands in his pockets.

 

“‘Afternoon, Cap”, Tony said emotionlessly as the one and only Steve Rogers stepped out of the car by himself. His hair was slicked back, and he was starting to grow some scruff. He also wore a leather biker jacket with tight black jeans and a gray shirt. If Steve was any other person, he would've found this attractive, but Steve was in fact not any other person, so he settled the man with a glare, becoming increasingly disgusted as Steve gave him one of his signature charming smiles.

 

“I see you’ve fixed up the place,” he said. “How’s the little one doing?”

 

“‘The little one’?”, Tony questioned.

 

“Well, you never told me her name.”

 

“Well, it’s not any of your business, now is it, _Steve_?”, he spat the name out. “Why are you here anyway?”

 

“I wanted to talk to you,” he said, walking past Tony and towards his porch before he could stop him. “Can we sit?”

 

Tony bit back any remarks he was about to say and nodded reluctantly, following the Alpha. They both climbed up the steps together and Tony held open the door for him, holding back a growl as Steve purred at him and went inside, picking out the comfiest chair by the window. _Bucky’s chair_.

 

Tony sat down opposite him, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“What do you want so bad that you had to come out here to find me instead of just calling?”

 

“If I had called, you wouldn’t have answered,” Steve said without missing a beat.

 

Tony nods. “That’s understandable. You did leave me to die in a whole other country, and our son was almost crushed to death by his own father. I wonder why I wouldn’t have answered, maybe it’s because I’m edgy-”

 

“Tony.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Can you just… stop talking for five seconds?”

 

“I will not be told to stop talking in my own home,” Tony said. “You’re going to listen to everything I say, and you won’t have your own word unless I say so, got it?”

 

“Yes, but-”

 

“What did I just say, Cap? Do you want me to continue on why I wouldn’t have answered your calls? Do you want me to tell you about how I had to raise _our_ son in this house all by myself without _your_ help?”

 

“This is irrational, Tony-”

 

“Oh, irrational my ass!”, Tony yelled. “Everything you do is fucking irrational.”

 

Steve winced. “I just came here to ask if you wanted some company, I’m sure it’s not easy taking care of a child all by yourself.”

 

“I’m not asking for help,” Tony bit out.

 

“Well I’m not giving you help. I simply asked if you wanted some company, it’s not that difficult.”

 

Tony opened his mouth to reply when suddenly he was met with an arm full of Morgan, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck.  He instinctively wrapped his arms around the slighter girl’s shoulders, watching out of the corner of his eye as Steve reached out almost like he wanted to touch Tony, but didn’t.

 

“I came to save you, mommy,” she said.

 

“Good job, I’m saved.”

  


“She’s pretty,” Steve commented. “Looks a lot like Buck.”

 

Tony took in a sharp breath before glaring at Steve. “I wish you had come here to ask me something else. _Anything_ else, really. But you need to leave.”

 

He had begun to stand up when Steve stopped him, grabbing his shoulder.

 

“Tony,” he said, those puppy dog eyes of his looking absolutely smitten as he stared at the Omega.

 

“Rogers.”

 

“I get it, you miss Bucky and you don’t want to be unfaithful, but he’s dead, Tony. You know this. I’m just trying to give you a second chance so you don’t live in misery for the rest of your life.”

 

“I got my second chance right here, Cap,” Tony replied, obviously referring to Morgan who was nestled in his arms. “I can’t let that go, especially after what happened to…”

 

He paused, looking away to the side before turning his gaze back to Steve. “If you wanna stay and talk about this, then I will not have any problem sending you away. Is that clear?”

 

“Fine,” Steve said, getting up. “But if you ever need me, you know how to find me-”

 

“Out,” Tony merely said, pointing towards the door with his right hand.

 

Steve nodded, looking at Tony one last time before leaving the house. Once Tony was sure he had left, he fell back into the chair and let out small sobs, clutching at his daughter's back and crying softly into the shoulder of her gray and pink sweater.

 

“It’s okay,” Morgan reassured, patting his cheek like Tony did when she was sad. “We can have cheeseburger now if that make you happy, mama.”

 

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Tony chuckled through his tears and slowly let her down, getting up from the chair he was sitting in and heading towards the kitchen. “You want ketchup or mustard?”

 

“Ketchup.”

 

“Good choice, princess.”

  
  
  



	2. We Have Tacos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony figures out the secret to time traveling, Steve sees a potential pup in Morgan, and they all go back in time. 
> 
> **(READ END AND BEGINNING NOTES)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of a heads up, the "son" from chapter 1 was Peter Parker. I got a lot of comments asking me who he was and I stupidly figured everybody would have known so I just had to let that out. And yes, I know Bucky/ Tony is by far the most crackiest ship for this fanfiction, but it got the most votes on my Instagram poll so I can't really argue.

**_Tony was in his lab when he received the call from Bruce about time traveling._** Supposedly, Bruce had theorized a way to time travel by using the quantum realm so they could retrieve the infinity stones from different timelines and reverse the effects of the snap. Tony had thought this idea absurd at first, refusing to help whatsoever and completely shutting out the remaining Avengers in favor of spending time with his only daughter, Morgan, the last living piece of him in this world. But after some time to study and think it over, he had finally relented and agreed to work with Bruce, thus leading him to where he was now- sitting in a plastic folding chair in the middle of his garage with a hand covered over his mouth in shock, the words “Model Successful” glowing bright red on the hologram in front of him. 

 

“Shit,” he breathed out, disbelieving.

 

“ _S_ _hit!_ ” a tiny voice mimicked from behind him, followed by a fit of giggles.

 

Tony spun around, eyes widening almost comically at the sight of the little girl sitting on the staircase watching him. He brought a finger to his lips, shushing.

 

"What are you doing out here, little miss?” he whispered.

 

“Shit!” she repeated. 

 

“No, we don’t say that,” he scolded, pointing his finger accusingly at her. “Only Mommy says that word. I coined it, therefore it belongs to me.”

 

“Why are you up?” she asked, wrapping her pudgy little arms around the front of her legs, just below her kneecaps.

 

Tony made a gesture over his shoulder to the hologram. “Because I got some important shit going on here. What do you think?”

 

Morgan gave Tony a mischievous look, causing the older man to let out a sigh, turning around in his seat so he could fully face the girl. “No, uh- I got something on my mind," he lied. 

 

“Was it juice pops?” she asked with a hint of hopefulness in her voice, cocking her head innocently to one side, brown strands of hair falling across her forehead in the way that made Tony want to swoop his hand in and quickly brush them aside, no matter how stubborn they were with staying put behind her ear. 

 

Tony gazed at the ceiling for a few moments like he was in deep thought before turning his head back to Morgan, the corners of his lips curling upwards into a smile.

 

“Sure was,” he replied.

 

He stood up, grabbing his coat from the back of the folding chair before taking Morgan’s small hand in his larger own, guiding her up the flight of stairs leading to the kitchen.

 

“You know, great minds think alike,” Tony commented. “ _Juice pops_ was exactly on my mind.”

 

-

 

Tony pulled up to the Avengers Compound in his black Audi E-Tron GT, music blaring softly out of the sealed windows. Steve was already standing outside of the Compound when they arrived, this time wearing a baby blue button-down with a pair of tan khakis. When Tony was directly parallel with Steve, he rolled down the window, letting some of the sound escape and flourish in the air before turning the volume knob down with his other hand.

 

“Let me guess,” he said. "Scott turned into a baby?”

 

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, inclining his head slightly. “Among other things; yes.”

 

Tony stepped out of the car, rounding it momentarily to snatch Morgan from the backseat and hoist her onto his hip. She whined in protest but eventually settled in his arms, her head flopping lamely onto Tony’s shoulder.

 

“How is she?” Steve asked, and Tony finally turned to him, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“By ‘she’, do you mean Morgan?” he asked.

 

“So that‘s her name,” Steve thought out loud, ignoring Tony’s question entirely. “ _Morgan_.”

 

Tony scoffed, swiping his glasses off with one hand and folding them onto the collar of his shirt. “I thought Natasha or someone else would have told you already.”

 

“Not exactly,” Steve replied, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly which was unusual for him. “She hasn't been very responsive these days.”

 

Tony hummed, walking back around the vehicle and stopping just in front of Steve. “Doesn’t sound like the Natasha I know.”

 

 

"Yeah," Steve agreed. 

 

It was a silent for a few moments before either of them spoke up again.

 

“I’m sorry about last week, Tony”, Steve said, his voice shy of a whisper. “I didn’t mean to remind you of… you know who.”

 

“I got it,” Tony replied, his lips dipping vaguely into a frown. “It’s fine, _really_. And you don't need to refer to Bucky as 'you know who', that just makes it sound dishonorable."

 

 

Steve nodded, scratching his wrists nervously. "Right. M'sorry."

 

 

Tony cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to get rid of the tension. “Right then. Where exactly do we go?”

 

“We have tacos,” Steve blurted out.

 

Tony looked at him in confusion. 

 

Steve’s face flushed slightly and a warm blush spread across his cheeks, red and unforgiving. “I mean, you can go to the kitchen if Morgan and you are hungry… because we have tacos… that is.

 

“O-Or I can watch Morgan if _you’re_ just hungry, Tony,” he added quickly.

 

“I don't think that's a good-”

 

“Can I go with Steve, mama?”, Morgan asked, looking at Tony with a hopeful expression.

 

“I’m not hungry though,” Tony tried protesting, but was cut off by Morgan once again.

 

“You haven’t eaten anything in three days, mama, of course you’re hungry.”

 

Steve gave Tony a concerned look. “Is that so?”

 

Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. He refused to look directly at Steve.

 

“Yes, but I’m fine now. I’m not hungry at all-”

 

“No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “You’re really not fine.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

He slung a large clad arm across the back of Tony’s shoulders and led him through the entrance of the Compound.

 

“What are you doing, Steve?”, Tony asked cautiously, but not sweeping the arm off his shoulders.

 

"What does it look like?", Steve asked, glancing down at Tony. The height difference wasn't significant but it was still there, with Steve being three inches taller than Tony and all. "We're getting you food and I'm going to watch Morgan for you because that's what friends do."

 

"Yeah," Tony grumbles, his voice dropping to a whisper. "' _Friends_ ' _._ "

 

-

 

“So, _Morgan_ ,” Steve started, folding his hands on the table in front of him and leaning towards the little girl with a smile. “How old are you?”

 

They were sitting at a table in the dining room, Tony not too far away in the kitchen talking to Bruce at the bar. The only other person in the dining room was Scott, but he was too busy ogling over his plate of tacos to give a damn about their conversation.

 

“Five and a half,” she replied without missing a beat.

 

“I’m a hundred years old,” Steve stated confidently, smirking at the look of surprise written on Morgan’s features.

 

“Really?” she whispered in shock. Her eyes were blown wide and her hands braced the table as if the next thing he said would practically blow her away. “You don’t look a hundred years old.”

 

“Yeah, well, that’s the thing,” he responded. “When all this started, I was just thirty years old, living in the slums of Brooklyn with my only pal at the time, Bucky-”

 

“ _Bucky_?” Morgan questioned, tilting her head in confusion. 

 

“You know, your dad?”

 

She nodded in understanding, resting her chin on her fist.

 

“Well, back then, I was this small little Alpha who weighed only a mere 90 pounds and couldn’t sock a fella in the nose for nothin'. That was, until they injected me with the serum-”

 

“ _The serum_? What’s that?”

 

“ Oh, well, it’s this thing that made me super strong and able to fight off the bad guys like I do now.”

 

“Can _I_ take the serum?”, she asked.

 

Steve laughed. “No, I don’t think that’s possible, especially for someone your size.”

 

Morgan huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and pouting. “Size doesn’t matter.”

 

Before Steve knew what he was doing, he let out a purr, one very similar to the small rumbles in his throat he’d give Peter when he was growing up.  But if Morgan seemed to notice, she didn’t mention it, unraveling the arms from her chest and plopping them back on the table with a thud, causing Scott on the other end of the table to spill the contents of his taco out of fear, leaving only the soulless remains of a hard taco shell.

 

"Then what?"

-

 

“ _Tony._ ”

 

Tony turned around at the sound of a familiar feminine voice, coming face to face with a surprisingly pleasant looking Natasha. Her false red hair was mended into a braid and had blonde highlights at the tip from where the dye had long since faded off. She smiled warmly and peered down at the child practically sticking to his leg like white on rice, wearing her own mini version of the quantum realm suits. Although he wouldn’t actually admit it, Natasha looked happier this way. More relaxed. Most likely because Clint had come back and the Beta had been garnering a secret crush on the archer ever since the Avengers’ first attack that took place in New York.

 

“How’s life serving you these days, baby mama?”, she asked.

 

Tony chuckled at the nickname, the semblance of a fond smile grazing his lips ever so slightly.  “Can’t really say that those days are great, but she makes it all worthwhile.”

 

He affectionately petted the pup’s head, smiling as Morgan scrunched her nose in distaste.

 

“I’m happy for you, Tony”, she said, setting a hand on his shoulder. “ _I really mean it_.”

 

She eventually let the hand slip off and away from his shoulder, strutting off towards the platform with the other Avengers with Tony following close behind and Morgan on his heels. Just as he was about to step on the platform, he turned around, crouching just in front of Morgan with a sad smile. 

 

“‘M sorry, baby. But you can’t come with us. Happy promised me you would stay safe with him.” 

 

Morgan huffed, her lower lip jutting out in a pout as she crossed her arms angrily across her chest. “But I have a suit.”

 

Tony sighed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Morgan’s ear and looking down. “I know, honey. But it'll only be a few minutes before we come back. We'll be back before you know it."

 

He was silent for a moment before he continued. "Do this for me, please.”

 

She weighed her options silently before nodding, stepping away reluctantly.

 

"That’s my girl,” he said, clapping her gently on the shoulder. “Happy should be waiting for you in the kitchen.

 

"Oh, and by the way, Friday, tell me when Morgan reaches the kitchen,” he added quickly.

 

"Yes, sir,” the AI responded cheerfully as per usual. 

 

“Great.”

 

He slowly ascended the steps to the time machine, trying to keep his footing as he blew a kiss to his daughter before turning around so he could easily walk the rest of the way to his spot on the platform. 

 

 

“You ready, Cap?” Tony asked as the helmets came down on their heads, locking them in place. 

Steve looked at Tony, the smallest hint of a smile gracing his lips. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Tony felt a sudden pressure on his hand, looking up suddenly to see Steve who was intertwining their fingers together comfortably while looking anywhere but Tony at the moment. He tensed up at first, but eventually, his shoulders slumped, eyes closing involuntarily at the feeling. The sound of the countdown echoed in their ears from the distance as Steve proceeded to close his own eyes as well, giving a reassuring squeeze to Tony's hand.

”Countdown in 3..."

"Whatever it takes," Steve murmured. 

"2..."

"Whatever it takes," Tony murmured back, glancing at Steve one more time before they went back in time. 

"1..." 

 

With a flash of light, there was no one standing on the platform. 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT MAY SEEM LIKE STONY NOW BUT I ASSURE YOU IT'S 100% WINTERIRON  
> I'm just buttering up Steve's emotions so I can prepare him for the ultimate heartbreak of a lifetime  
> (Sorry, Steve. I love you, I really do- but this isn't a stony fic and you really shouldn't belong here but my brain said "fuck it, angst all the way" and kicked you straight into the plot.)


	3. Stark-Centricity (Chapter 2.5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the last chapter.

**_*I wasn't sure if people were going to read the beginning and endnotes so I'm putting them here instead. I changed the very end of chapter 2 so you might want to read that if you want this chapter to make sense to you. Thank you for reading this work thus far:))*_ **

__

_**“Young master,” Friday’s voice pierced through the silence like an eagle’s sharp talon, seizing its prey and alerting Morgan who continued to stare at the machine long after the group had disappeared.**_ “I advise you to go to the kitchen now if you do not want to anger your mother. Happy will be awaiting your presence.”

Morgan promptly ignored the AI, opting to step towards the machine instead. 

 “Mommy says it feels like hours or days inside the time machine when it’s only a few minutes out here, is that true?”, she asked, inclining her head towards the ceiling in question. 

Friday stayed silent for a moment, almost as if she was reluctant to the idea of giving any sort of information to the young Stark. 

“Yes,” she finally replied, sounding apprehensive. The room went silent once again and Morgan took another step forward. 

“Then I should go too,” Morgan said, puffing her chest out confidently. She took another step and fully planted herself onto the platform. “He could get lonely or Stevie could yell at him again. You don’t want that to happen either, do you?”

There was the sound of a door opening somewhere in the Compound, followed by a beating of feet. 

“Please step away from the apparatus immediately, Miss Barnes,” Friday pleaded, calm and coordinated as always. “It is very dangerous.”

Morgan shook her head stubbornly and ascended the steps, stopping suddenly when the helmet clicked shut on her head and a whirring noise erupted from the platform as an array of metal panels started to circle around her from above. Suddenly, a door slammed open in the distance and Happy came running out, a hand extended towards the girl. 

“Get off there!”, he yelled, and before she had the chance to jump or get off, she was gone. 

 

 

 

 


	4. Uncle Clint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce, Scott, Steve, and Tony go back to 2012 to retrieve three of the infinity stones. What they don't know is that Morgan had followed their cheese trail straight into the mouse hole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read the end of chapter 2 or the whole 2.5 chapter, I suggest you go read it now or this won't make any sense.

**_2012, New York City_ **

 

A disgruntled Hulk roared, fists drawn behind his back in anger.

Clint extended his bowstring with one fluid motion, then aiming his bow towards the spaceship where thousands of chitauri soldiers flew out into the surrounding city.

Thor wielded _Mjolnir_ , twisting it in his hand readily as a snarl graced his lips, revealing the pearly white canines underneath.

Natasha cocked her gun, looking around cautiously as she readied the gun near her head.

Steve stared up the sky, carrying the spangled shield in his fist.

Tony descended quickly to the ground, landing elegantly on the debris as a burst of flames erupted nearby in the distance.

They all had their backs to each other,- excluding Steve who looked more interested in protecting Tony than anything else- having formed some kind of protective circle around the remainder of space between them, the position they were in seeming more akin to something you would see in a bonded pack rather than a few people who had met in a conference room earlier that day to create an alliance over their superpowers and form a group called the Avengers- a band of misfits with extraordinary minds and powers that would supposedly save the Earth from utter chaos and destruction.

But little did the group know that this was not their last battle, _nor their hardest_.

 

-

**_They arrived in a somewhat familiar alleyway, the red and white helmets recoiling back into their suits and slowly ebbing away to reveal their costumes underneath._ **

“Alright,” Steve declared, stepping forwards and observing their surroundings. “We all have our assignments. Two stones uptown, one down. Bruce, you get the time stone. The rest of us will get the others. Agreed?”

They all nodded, preparing to leave before an angry Hulk from 2012 came out from seemingly nowhere, smashing a car by the sidewalk with his fists and hitting a nearby chitauri with one of its wheels as it unhinged itself from the vehicle and whistled through the air towards the creature.

Bruce raised a hand to his face, shaking his head.

“And maybe smash a few things along the way,” Steve added, to himself mostly, chuckling.

“I didn’t come here to do this but whatever,” Bruce grumbled, already beginning to tear the shirt from his chest as he stepped into the street and tried to mimic his other self, but ultimately failing. 

Steve then returned his gaze to Scott and Tony, a determined look on his face.

“Let’s get those stones, shall we?”

-  
Morgan made an “oof” noise as she fell butt-first onto the concrete, her long brown locks sprawling across her shoulders as the helmet of the suit retreated back and left her isolated in her pink jumper and twinkle-toe sneakers, specially made by Tony who took an old pair of Peter’s shoes and hot-glued light up sequins to the toe cap, but that's a story for another time. 

She slowly stood up from the ground and observed her surroundings, seeing buildings somewhat familiar to the ones she saw earlier when Tony was bringing her to the Compound with him instead of leaving her with Pepper, who was too busy with whatever she did these days. 

Morgan walked out of the narrow alleyway and found herself standing in the middle of a desolate street. It was covered in debris and strange creatures flew overhead or prowled on the ground, attacking anything that dared to come their way. She made a move to run to the next alley across the road, but one of the creatures had spotted her in the process and bared its teeth, running towards her suddenly.

Letting out a high-pitched scream, she froze like a deer in the headlights before a strong, toned arm wrapped around her waist, heaving her upwards into the air as an arrow shot straight into the thing’s head and made it fall back onto the ground with a thud, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.

She craned her neck to assess her rescuer and realized it was Clint, wearing a funny-looking suit with a pair of shades.

“Uncy’ Clint!” she cried in relief, throwing her arms around his neck.

The archer chuckled nervously, trying to unwrap the girl’s arms from their tight told around his neck before choosing to set her down on the ground. He then went to retrieve the arrow from the chitauri's head. 

“I don’t think I remember having a niece, or a sibling for that matter. But if it makes you feel better, my name is actually Clint.” He ripped the arrow from its head with a sickening crunch and replaced it back in it's sheath, a confused expression suddenly taking over his features. “Though I definitely don’t remember telling anybody my name, especially a four-year-old child…”

“Five, actually,” Morgan corrected, but the expression never left the archer’s face.

He stepped closer. “How did you-”

 

“Clint.”

Another person entered the clearing and Morgan recognized that it was Natasha, though much younger looking, she realized, as she spied the sleek black catsuit and short red curls, gun tucked deliberately into the waistband of her pants.

Natasha looked confusedly at Morgan before turning to Clint, cocking an eyebrow. “Who’s the kid?”

“I don’t know,” he responded, looking just as confused as Natasha. “But she knows my name.”

“So what?” Natasha asked, tilting her head and eyes softening.  “The rest of the Avengers know your name.”

“Yeah, but that's just the Avengers-”

“What’s your name, hon’?” Natasha interrupted, crouching in front of the girl, ignoring Clint’s blubbers of protest in favor of speaking to Morgan who was watching the exchange closely with wide brown eyes.

“Morgan Barnes,” she replied, bewildered.`She didn’t understand what was happening. Why did they look so different? How could Natasha and Clint forget her name when they just saw each other merely seconds (or maybe minutes, she wasn’t counting) ago?

“A pretty name for a pretty girl,” Natasha complimented, smiling.

Morgan blushed.

“Nat, I don’t think we should be-”

“Be quiet for a second, Clint. I’m trying to talk to _Morgan_ here.” She glanced briefly at Morgan, for reassurance mostly. "That is your name, right?"

She nodded. 

"Good," Natasha replied, the room going silent for a few moments before she finally spoke up again. 

“Do you know where your parents are?” she asked, and Morgan shook her head.

Natasha hummed, looking down for a second in thought.

“Do you know a phone number we can contact them at, or perhaps their names by any chance?”

“No, but my mama's name is Tony,” Morgan replied.

Natasha nodded, a motion to continue. "And last name?"

"Stark."

A snort erupted from behind Natasha.

“ _The_ Tony Stark can't possibly be your mom, kiddo”, Clint laughed. “It’s not like Steve and Tony would be able to hide a baby behind our backs, anyway."

Natasha growled, causing the archer to shut up instantly and mumble a quick “sorry” under his breath. Tears began to fill Morgan’s eyes and Natasha had to quickly wipe them away, smearing her thumb across her cheek as she shushed the girl softly, stroking gently.

“B-But, Tony Stark is my mama,” she stutters, choking up on her words as tears start to slide freely down her cheeks with the growing onslaughts of a whine deep in her throat.

Natasha glared at Clint, who looked back with a guilty expression on his features, slumping his shoulders submissively under the redhead's gaze.

“See what you did, Clint,” she scolded, allowing Morgan to wrap her arms around her shoulders and nestle into the crook of her neck. “You got her all riled up now.”

She continued to shush Morgan until she settled down from her little tantrum, pulling back only so she could cup the younger girl’s face in her hands.

“Do you have any other family members besides your mom? Like a dad, or sibling?” Her voice was hopeful. 

Morgan nodded, sniffing and rubbing her eyes until they were puffy and red. “Yeah," she said, sulkily. "But they both died in the Snap.”

“The Snap, hm?” Natasha gave her a pitying look, tucking a loose strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead behind her ear before standing up and offering the girl her extended hand. “You can come back with us until we find your mom. I can probably arrange to get you your own room if you're staying overnight, but if not, you can sleep in mine.

“I prefer the floor, anyway,” she added, trying to soothe the tension with a smile. “I got a few kid movies with me that I bought because of another kid in the Tower, so we can watch those if you want.”

Morgan stared at the ex-assassin for a while before finally accepting her hand, standing up shakily with her assistance.

“Atta’ girl,” Natasha praised, patting her lightly on the back with her free hand and starting to walk towards the alleyway directly across from the one Morgan came out of, motioning for Clint to follow her.

 

“You think Tony will mind her staying over?”, Clint asked as they were beginning to approach their next end that opened up into a large street, most importantly, the large street that led to the Stark Tower. 

Natasha tsked. “Of course he will, he’s the biggest softy with kids I’ve ever seen. ‘Sides, Peter has no one to build those weird ‘Star Wars’ structures with anyways, except Ned and that weird Wade kid. Although, Peter did mention he hasn’t seen him since that fire incident that happened in the cafeteria. I expect he died, or moved maybe, but I doubt he’ll be coming by to visit anytime soon. _I_ could also use the company, though.”

Clint hummed, raking a hand through his blonde hair. “I see.”

Natasha suddenly stopped when they were rounding a corner near the tower, causing Clint to reach back instinctively to grab an arrow before Natasha held a hand up, turning to face Morgan with a smile. 

“My name’s Natasha, by the way", she introduced. "But you can call me Nat.”

“I know,” Morgan replied, barely missing a beat

Natasha seemed shocked. “Oh, do you now?”

“Mhm," Morgan droned, still latched onto the older woman's hand as they crossed a street. 

“I really need to learn more about this name thing you got going on here," Natasha said, looking down at Morgan. "You could be a potential member of the Avengers team someday.”

"Really?" 

“Really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kinda rushed so I'm sorry if it's bad. I tried to give a little insight into Peter's life and have Natasha be all cutesy and mothery before Tony from the present discovers Morgan has followed them into their little time dilemma.


End file.
